Electrical connector for printed circuit board



Sept. 20, 1960 E. A. GREASLEY ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD Filed Nov. 25, 1957 ATTORNEY United States Patent ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD Eric Arthur Greasley, Stapleford, England, asslgnor, by

mesne assignments, to United-Carr Fastener Corporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 698,866

1 Claim. (Cl. 339-17) This invention relates to printed circuit edge connectors, electrical contacts for said connectors and to assemblies employing the same.

According to the present invention a printed circuit edge connector comprises a body of insulating material having an aperture therein which extends through the body, a plurality of contacts located in the aperture, each of the contacts having means for engaging printed circuitry on a panel and means by which a lead wire can be secured to the contact, and a cover releasably securable to the body in a position in which the cover extends over the end of the aperture through which lead wires extend when they are secured to the contacts, the cover having means for securing it to a panel when the connector is mounted on the edge thereof such that the edge of the panel lies within the aperture and the cover is in said position on the body.

The present invention also provides an electrical assembly comprising a panel provided on one face with printed circuitry portions of which extend to adjacent one edge of the panel, a printed circuit edge connector as defined above, a portion of said one edge of -the panel extending into the aperture in the connector such that the means for engaging printed circuitry of a panel of each contact of the connector each engages a corresponding one of said portions of printed circuitry, the cover being releasably secured in said position to the body by the means for so securing the cover and being secured to the panel by the means for so securing the cover, and a plurality of lead wires each secured to a corresponding one of the contacts of the connector by the means by which a lead wire can be secured to the corresponding contact.

The present invention further provides an electrical contact for use in a printed circuit edge connector, the contact being integrally formed from a thin strip of electrically conductive material and comprising a pair of resilient spaced legs, a first portion of one of the legs being a different width from that of the portions of said one leg adjacent said first portion such that there is provided a pair of shoulders spaced longitudinally of the leg.

In addition the present invention provides a printed circuit edge connector comprising a body of insulating material having an aperture therethrough in which is mounted a plurality of contacts each constructed as defined in the preceding paragraph wherein the legs of each of the contacts are resiliently compressed between opposite walls of the aperture and each contact is located in the aperture by engagement of the shoulders of the contact with shoulders provided in the aperture in the body.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be described in greater detail by way of example only, with reference to the drawings accompanying the provisional specification.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of one form of a connector constructed according to the present invention,

Fig. 2 shows a transverse cross section of the connector of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale,

2,953,765. Patented Sept. 20, 1960 Fig. 3 shows the connector of Fig. 1 assembled on a panel provided with printed circuitry,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the contact employed in the connector.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the printed circuit edge connector comprises a body portion 1 formed of electrically insulating material. Extending through the body is an aperture 2 comprising a slot 3 which extends only part way into the body 1 from the front face 4 and the end face 5 of the body and a series of channels 6 each of which extends transversely of the slot 3 and which extends through the body 1 from the front face 4 to the rear face 7.

The body 1 is provided on each of its side faces 8 and 9 with outwardly extending ridges 10 and 11 respectively which form convex keyways extending in a direction transverse to that in which the aperture 2 extends through the body. Each of the convex keyways of the body are engageable by one of co-operating concave keyways or grooves 12 and 13 formed in a cover 14. When the cover 14 is assembled on the body 1 (as shown in Fig. 3) by sliding the body keyways into the cover keyways, the main portion 15 of the cover extends over the end of the aperture 2 at face 7 of the body. Situated at one end 16 of the cover and extending away from the main portion 15 is a pair of lugs 17. The lugs extend substantially parallel to each other each being spaced from the other a distance approximately equal to the width of the slot 3, and are each provided with a hole 18, the holes being axially aligned one with the other.

In each channel 6 is located a contact 19 each of which is integrally formed from a single thin strip of electrically conductive material, for example, beryllium copper. The strip is bent to provide a pair of resilient spaced legs 20 and 21 joined together at a corresponding end of each leg at 22 by a portion of the strip being folded so that portion 23 of the strip overlies and is closely adjacent to portion 24 to provide means by which a lead wire can be secured to the contact. Each of the legs is provided with a first portion 25 of different width from that of the portions of the legs adjacent the respective first portions (in the specific embodiment portion 25 is of reduced width) so as to provide on each leg a pair of shoulders 26, 27, the shoulder 26 of each pair being spaced longitudinally of the respective leg from the shoulder 27 of the pair. At the free end of leg-21 there is provided an integral extension 28 which is bent backwardly upon leg 21 to lie between the two legs and provides means for engaging printed circuitry on a panel inserted in the slot 3.

The above described connector is assembled into the position shown in Fig. 3 in the following manner:

With the contacts 19 removed from the body portion 1, each of the contacts is assembled with a corresponding lead wire 29 by baring one end 30 of the lead wire, and soldering or welding to portion 22 of the contact leg as at 30a. The contact is then slid into its respective channel 6 (the legs 20 and 21 of the contact being resiliently compressed between the opposing walls of the channel) until the shoulders 26, 27 of the contact engage spaced shoulders 31, 32 respectively of portions 33, 34 of the body 1 which project into the channel 6 and serve to locate the contact in the channel. The contacts are thus assembled with body 1 with the lead wire of each of the various contacts projecting through the end 16 of the respective channel 3.

If desired, the lead wires 29 may then be assembled into the form of a cable harness.

In any case, the cover 14 is then releasably secured to the body 1 by sliding the convex keyways of the body into the concave keyway of the cover until the lugs 18 abut the end face 5 of the body 1, the lead wires being caused to form a bundle which extends outwardly from the main portion 15 of the cover 14.

The assembled connector is then slid in the direction of arrow A (Fig. 3) on to a panel 35 provided with printed circuitry 36 portions of which extend to adjacent one edge of the panel to form contacts 37 (four only of which are shown in Fig. 3) so that the corner of the panel 35 extends into the slot 3 in the body 1. When the connector is pushed right home, the holes 18 in the lugs 17 provide means which in co-operation with a similar hole (not shown) provided in panel 35 in axial alignment with hole 18 allow the cover 14 and panel 35 to be secured together, for example, by positioning a screw in the aligned holes and securing a nut thereto.

In the assembled position of the connector to the panel the extension 28 of each contact 19 is in engagement with a corresponding one of the contacts 37 and electrical connection is provided between the contacts 37 and the lead wires 29.

I claim:

An electrical connector for a printed circuit board comprising a body of insulating material having top and bottom portions, said body having a slot extending lengthwise thereof and intersecting both said top and bottom portions, said body having a plurality of pairs of opposed channels extending transversely of said slot, rib-like side walls defining each of said channels and extending vertically for a portion of the depth of said slot, said side 'walls projecting laterally into said slot and having upper and lower ends, an electrical contact received in each of said pairs of opposed channels, each of said contacts being integrally formed from a snip of electrically conductive material and having a pair of opposed legs, said first of said legs having a reduced width portion disposed within one of said channels, said first leg having portions of greater width adjacent opposed ends of said reduced width portion engaging said upper and lower ends of said respective side walls of said channel, said other leg having a reduced width portion disposed within said channel opposed to said channel receiving said first References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,194,122 Ball Aug. 8, 1916 1,451,548 Kreisheld Apr. 10, 1923 1,841,736 Jones Ian. 19, 1932 2,408,843 Gauthier Oct. 8, 1946 2,724,810 Keeler et al Nov. 22, 1955 2,760,173 Cunningham Aug. 21, 1956 2,853,689 Jackson et a1 Sept. 23, 1958 OTHER REFERENCES Camlock: Electronic Design, April 15, 1956, pages 52, 53. 

